European Clean Energy Investment Guide 2012

MarkeT aNalysis
European Venture Capital
Investment Analysis
European Venture Capital and Private Equity Investment: 1Q10 to 1Q12
Deal value ($ billion)
36
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
PE - Development Capital
VC - Early Growth (Series A to C)
VC - Late Stage (Series D+)
Average Quarterly VC/PE Investment: 1Q10 to 1Q12
Venture Capital (Early Growth) $151.54 million
Venture Capital (Late Stage) $74.15 million
Private Equity (Development Capital) $219.97 million
Source: Clean Energy pipeline
Early Stage Venture Capital and Private Equity Deal Distribution: 2011
Number of deals
25
20
15
10
5
0
Source: Clean Energy pipeline
Deal value ($ million)
Venture capital investment in European
clean energy companies declined to $842
million in 2011, a 24% decrease on the $1.1
billion recorded in 2010.
2012 has started on a somewhat tepid
note – venture capital firms only allocated
$82 million to European clean energy
companies in 1Q12, the lowest quarterly
level of the last two years.
On the flipside private equity investment
(excluding buyouts) jumped to $1.0 billion
in 2011, up 48% on the $688 million
recorded in 2010. This trend is showing no
signs of abating in early 2012. Private equity
firms invested $277 million in the European
clean energy sector in 1Q12, over 7x the
level recorded in the corresponding period
in 2011 ($39 million) and 2010 ($34 million).
Average Deal Size: 1Q10 to 1Q12
Venture Capital (Early Growth) $5.68 million
Venture Capital (Late Stage) $14.30 million
Private Equity (Development Capital) $29.28 million
Some 30% of early-stage (Series A-C)
venture capital transactions were under
$2 million in size. A further 48% were
between $2 million and $8 million while
the remaining 22% were over $8 million.
The average size of an early stage venture
capital transaction was $6.1 million in
2011, up from $5.1 million in 2010. The
average size of a late stage venture capital
transaction was $11.6 million in 2011,
down from $15.6 million in 2010.